Slive: Penn State scandal serves as reminder for vigilance about integrity

Mike Slive weighed in on the Penn State scandal at SEC Media Days on Tuesday. (Mark Almond/The Birmingham News)

HOOVER, Alabama -- SEC Commissioner Mike Slive said the recent child sex-abuse scandal at Penn State should remind universities to be vigilant about integrity and focused on educating and protecting young people.

"No one program, no one person, no matter how popular, no matter how successful, can be allowed to derail the soul of an institution," Slive said today at his annual address at SEC Media Days.

A report by ex-FBI Director Louis Freeh concluded last week that top Penn State leaders, including coach Joe Paterno, concealed Jerry Sandusky's abuse of boys in the Penn State locker room.

"We must maintain an honest and open dialogue across all levels of university administration," Slive said. "There must be an effective system of checks and balances within the administrative structure to protect all who come in contact with it, especially those who cannot protect themselves."

After his speech, Slive said what happened at Penn State "is something in a horrific way that reminds us athletics has a proper place in the context of higher education and that we need to be ever vigilant, all of us, to make sure we keep that perspective."

Slive said he wouldn't presume to know how the NCAA should handle Penn State. "It's obviously a matter of first impression and one (NCAA President Mark) Emmert has been talking about."

When asked whether he worries if something horrific could be covered up in the SEC due to its football culture, Slive replied, "We all need to be vigilant. We have very active presidents and chancellors with policies in the conference. The important thing is that our athletic programs are acting within the context of higher education and our schools' mission."

In SEC news, Slive said the conference will continue to have discussions with ESPN and CBS through the summer to increase the league's TV rights value. CBS has balked at paying a significant increase, arguing that adding Missouri and Texas A&M doesn't change its deal, SportsBusiness Journal reported in late May.

"There are a lot of people in Texas," Slive said. "It's a large state. It's got a lot of population, it's got a lot of television households. It's a wonderful addition to our league."

The longer term question is the SEC's interest to create its own television network, something done by the Big Ten and Pac-12, and what it may look like in a partnership with ESPN.

"There has been a whole lot of speculation about Project X. Is it still a secret? I don't think so," Slive said. "But we now call it Project SEC. Our objective longterm is to work with our television partner to provide fans with greater access to favored teams, more opportunities to watch rivals, and more insight into who we are: a conference of 14 great universities."

Texas A&M and Missouri debut in 2012, the first additions to the SEC since 1992. Expanding caused many scheduling headaches the SEC is still sorting through for the future.

Asked what it would take for the SEC to expand again, Slive said, "I think first we've got to figure out how to make it work with 14. We've never been in an expansionist mode. We weren't last summer when it was Thursday at media day and I was sitting at home and got a call from A&M. It wasn't even on the radar screen at that point. ... Now that (Texas A&M and Missouri) are here, they're going to enhance our television future significantly."